Canal lb line

[rayner]

I tie my hooks with a figure 8. Feeder fishing just a single loop to a connector, I prefer to use a double overhand loop for more security.
To get the right size loop I use a sweetcorn holder, the type with two pins.

 

[wetthrough]

If you read my last HDYGO you'll have seen that I tried using a lighter main line. 3lb Maxima as I happened to have some and knew what it broke at giving me a good margin of safety from the 2lb fluorocarbon hook length.

It did make it easier to cast a lighter float. I could get to the target area at about 20M with a 1.2g float but had to force the cast a bit so switched to a 1.5g. I'd much rather use a heavier float than have to force the cast. As to whether the lighter main line makes casting accurately easier, I'm not sure, didn't do any harm.

On the negative side, if you get in a tangle , and who doesn't at some time, it's much harder to disentangle. It also sinks slower which seems to have the effect of allowing the tow to start pulling sooner. A back shot might have solved that.

On balance I don't think I'd bother again. I've fished the spot several times before and know I can cast where I want with a 6lb main although I'd use a 2g float. I don't see there's a significant advantage for me in using the 3lb main. A 2g float isn't significantly less sensitive than a 1.5g (it has the same bristle and only 5mm longer) and it allows me to switch to a 3.3lb hooklength without stripping everything down should it become necessary.

 

[rayner]

Gordon, if you are happy to use lines of a little stronger than most then stay with it. Just because anglers say they can manage with lighter grades so what.
I prefer lighter lines, I believe I have more control of my tackle from floats, I can also use smaller shots which I prefer to use as droppers on waggler rigs. If we all fished the same on the same waters, we would not stick at angling as long as we have.
As a by the way I have no qualms of using heavier hooklinks than my mainline, when using method feeders I regularly use 8lb hooklinks with my 6lb reel lines. I have every faith that the hook link will break first. The shorter hooklink having no stretch is less stable.

 

[silvers]

this may be heresy ... but I’m going to postulate that (for rod & reel float fishing) we should pretty much ignore stated breaking strain and just compare diameters.
ie. My standard reel line for 95% of situations is 2.6 Bayer (0.16 diameter) ... or same diameter in floatfish (3.2) or DH pro (4) ... i use this with hooklengths up to 0.15 diameter (And down to 0.07).
It is inevitably the hooklength that breaks first when pulling for a break ... even though the stated BS of 0.15 diameter is 4.87 pounds.

personally, for canal fishing I’d be choosing 2.1 bayer fir the reel (0.14 diameter) and hook lengths of 0.09 or below ... except where large perch reside.

 

[108831]

I'd agree with that,though that is really based on modern day thinking(the last 15yrs,lol),I have 2lb Golden Marlin,I know it fishes well on the canal and upon casting I leave a bow on the surface and dipping the tip a foot or so under and rip up enough to sink the line without drawing away from the fishing area,presentation is far better on lighter/finer diameter lines,that is why anglers like Ivan Marks used to use 1lb 8oz maxima for stick floating the Trent,if 4lb was as good they'd have been using it...

 

[wetthrough]

@whitty Hi Alan. I might not have explained myself very well with regard to sinking line. I wasn't conscious of it being easier to get under the surface but logically a thinner line would cut through easier. It's what happens after it's cut through the surface that bothered me. The thinner line seems to hang in the surface layers for longer. It takes longer to sink fully. Not sure how it fits with fishing a stick. I thought the idea of fishing a stick was to have the line floating?

@silvers I don't trust anything that's written on the spool, diameter or BS although I'd agree diameter is a better indicator than BS (assuming it's what it says it is) for main lines at least. I test the BS of any line I use or contemplate using. As such I'm confident there's sufficient margin between hooklength and main.

 

[tigger]

I'm surprised that no one has ever mentioned the fact that you could always set up a multi bottom rig.
Say, 6lb mainline attatched to a 4lb section, which in turn is attatched to a 2 1/2lb bottom.
Obviously those breaking strains are just an example and you could play around to get what you want.
I have actually done it myself, but it was quite sometime ago. If you think about it the more steps down to the last hooklink should create a more forgiving set up.

Fly fishing is set up like that, ok mainly for the casting and roll out but there is no reason why it can't be put into practice on a normal coarse fishing set up.

 

[silvers]

@whitty Hi Alan. I might not have explained myself very well with regard to sinking line. I wasn't conscious of it being easier to get under the surface but logically a thinner line would cut through easier. It's what happens after it's cut through the surface that bothered me. The thinner line seems to hang in the surface layers for longer. It takes longer to sink fully. Not sure how it fits with fishing a stick. I thought the idea of fishing a stick was to have the line floating?

@silvers I don't trust anything that's written on the spool, diameter or BS although I'd agree diameter is a better indicator than BS (assuming it's what it says it is) for main lines at least. I test the BS of any line I use or contemplate using. As such I'm confident there's sufficient margin between hooklength and main.

I check all lines with a micrometer (despite various protestations that you have to be “trained“ to use one I’ve never had a problem measuring lines).
i suppose that I use relatively fine lines compared to many, but have confidence that I know the limitations of each ... part of the benefit of using the same lines for years!

 

[108831]

Decent line,is what it says,there are some out there Alex,each of us has different requirements of a line,haven't seen Bayer Perlon for years,I used to love Bayer Super Soft for river work in 2.9lb for chubbing,2lb for roach and bream,2lb maxima for canals.

 

[nottskev]

It just goes to show that in many ways it's the angler not the gear that makes a given set-up work. Myself, for general open-water stillwater fishing ( roach, bream, perch, small to medium tench, rudd, crucians) |I can't imagine putting a 6lb reel line on a trad match rod. I'm leaving carp and power float rods out of the equation. 2.5 to 3lb reel lines, not pre-stretched, are more than adequate. I notice that I favour a 2bb+ float where many go for a 2AA+, and I definitely find a thin line casts a small float better, besides balancing rod, hooklength and hooks more seamlessly.

Some lines are easier to sink than others. I don't know what others find, but I find Supplex, a line I like on a pin/long rod for fishing close'ish in floats like a cork. Manageable with a couple of yards in the water, but hopeless several rod lengths out. Good with a stick float, though. Any line can be sunk more easily if it's de-greased to remove stuff picked up from manufacture or the water surface.. I think that has got a bit lost now that so many of us fish poles or feeders where we once would have fished waggler. A degreased line can be chopped under with much less fuss - striking with a sunk rod tip, winding with the tip sunk and all that - than one not.

Do thin lines sink more quickly that thicker ones? We might think so, but it's not uncommon for anglers to use a much thicker than normal hooklength for catching fish on the drop; the thicker line, it's claimed, sinks more slowly.

When you've got your line to sink, there's another thing to think about. How far do you want it to sink? Some claim that lines that are happy to sink, like Maxima, sink too deep and impede the strike fractionally. I use it and it's never bothered me, but then on shallowish stills I much prefer to sweep the rod low to one side rather than up. Pulling the line through the water moves the float more effectively than lifting the line up. Your float is never going to shoot out of the water, as can happen with an upward strike and a hallow rig, nor do fish get dragged splashing to the top.

 

[wetthrough]

The 6lb line I'm using is Shimano Aero at 0.2 dia. It's not like I'm using brake cables. I do find Supplex main line hard to sink which is why I don't use it but it's strong stuff in relation to its diameter. I find Supplex is a bit fussy about knots, very slippy stuff when it's wet.

Technically, as the weight/volume increases by 4* for every doubling of the diameter I would expect a thicker line to sink faster in a static situation. Surface finish might affect the result.

However, in moving/towing water I see it much like a slack rope in the wind. It will try to align itself with the wind. A thick rope might move away and up a bit but a thin one (piece of cotton) might stay nearly horizontal.

My experience was that the thinner 0.14 line was lingering near the surface. With my regular line it would have sunk properly.

I'm not convinced that a bow in the line significantly impedes the strike. I see it more like pulling the line through a bent tube than having to straighten it out. A bow in the line is bound to have some impact, I just don't think it's massive JMO.

 

[nottskev]

I like your bent tube comparison, and as you say, a moderate bow is not a problem provided you strike with the bow not against it. Striking against it just doesn't work well. I started fishing with rod and line - no poles at the time - on canals, and you had to learn to sink your line without pulling your float out of position. It became such a habit that I'd find myself sinking the line even when it's better not to, such as still days or a light breeze against the undertow that helps you keep your float still. At one time a line de-greasing aid was marketed - a gadget clipped temporarily a few feet up the rod with two soft pads with detergent. You cast out, stuck the line in between, reeled in and removed it. Of course, it missed out the key bit in front of the pads, and it was better to de-grease the line from float back by pulling it through a cloth with dilute washing-up liquid. There's always a little bottle of this in my seatbox along with a small floatant spray and a little tub of fly-fishing grease.

Working out the best way/direction to strike to set the hook most efficiently is one of those things that we end up doing automatically.